Atlantic Ocean Morocco

Asilah and Lixus Roman Ruins

One of the best spots of the North Atlantic Cost, Asilah is very well known for its medieval ramparts, narrow streets with fantastic coast line and its fancy beaches. For the last few years Moroccan government has been investing money in this region to promote its tourism since it has a lot of potential. You’ll enjoy the Old Medina and the medieval ramparts and castle walls right in the Atlantic Coast.

Lixus is located on the Coast a few kilometres South of Asilah and can be done in a morning trip from Asilah.
According to Ancient Mythology, it was here hat Hercules picked the golden apples of the Garden of Hesperides, thus completing the11th of his 12 labors. The Phoenician Atlantic colonies fell to the Carthaginians in the 6th century BC. Lixus remained a trading point for slaves, gold and ivory.

Lixus was taken by the Roman Empire in the 6th century BC and its exportations changed mainly to olives, wince, salt and wild animals to Emperor Claudius’s amphitheatres.

Rabat

This great capital is a very interesting point to escape all other Imperial cities hassle and hustle. Rabat combines very well new modern cosmopolitan way of living with ancient palace and old Medinas inside castle walls facing the Atlantic coast. Rabat has a lot to offer and you’ll see plenty starting from the beautiful palaces and Mohammad 5th Mausoleum, to the Old Kasbah de Oudaias and its Andalusian Gardens.

Rabat has ancient settlements since the Phoenicians and Romans and only by the 10th and 12th century with the arrival of Almohads that’s the city started to get some size and more importance. From here, Yacoub Al-Mansour started his Iberian Peninsula Conquer and a few years later with its success, Ribat al-Fatah aka Rabat gained great prosperity. Rabat was Morocco’s capital for several times until when the French decided to change the government from Fès to Rabat.

El Jadida

El Jadida is the last UNESCO site in Morocco and its ancient Medina along with the Atlantic Coast makes it one of the most beautiful places in all Moroccan Coast. Founded by the Portuguese back in 1513 with the name Mazagan, this town remained Portuguese until the took over in 1769 by the Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah. For several years El Jadida was forgotten and left to ruins until later re-colonization of Portuguese merchants around 1850. The old “ Cité Portugaise ” has amazing views to the Ocean and the mixture of West European features with Moroccan taste are something unique.

Essaouira

Essaouira named Mogador by the Portuguese in the end of the 15th century, is one of the most well known coastal cities in Morocco. It’s very famous for its Gnawa music festival, ocean view castle ramparts and grilled fish restaurants on the ocean side. A walk in Essouaira is a mixture of exotic architecture styles and smells always with music on the background. Most of the architecture that exist today was part of a reconstruction project ordered by the Sultan Sid Mohammed ben Abdallah to a French architect names Théodore Cornut, and the present name of Essaouira meaning “weel designed” comes back from that time.

You can visit the Port where Orsan Welles filmed many of his Othello heading North the wood-workers shops and further more the towns sea bastion built all along the cliffs. Southwest off the coast there’s Mogador Island and the bird sanctuary for Eleanora’s falcon that comes all the way from Madagascar to breed.

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Photo credits

Photos of Rabat by
Jean-Louis

Photos of Asilah by
Samir Selim

Photos of Lixus
Maciek

Photos of Essaouira by
Sue Kilner